The author's point of view is against the proposed extension of Highway 85, arguing that it would negatively impact downtown businesses, families, and the environment. The author's purpose is to persuade the city council and the community to vote against the highway extension by highlighting the benefits of improving existing infrastructure instead.
Vote No on the Highway 85 Extension
by Victoria Vail, Tribune staff writer
Next week, the city council will consider a proposal to extend Highway 85 by 10 miles. A small coalition of real estate developers
have hurried this proposal forward, hoping to capitalize on state tax breaks and reassuring the city that their intentions are good.
In truth, however, the proposed extension would hurt our community. It would be bad for downtown businesses, bad for families,
and bad for the environment.
Bad for Downtown Businesses
Developers claim that the land west of town is ripe to be turned into a combined retail/residential area. They say that the
extension of Highway 85 would give shoppers access to a greater variety of stores. In truth, though, we already have a great
variety of stores downtown—over 200 of them. Many of these businesses have been hurting for several years due to the neglect
of the Exit 10 overpass, which has made driving difficult. Extending Highway 85 would give shoppers a reason to avoid downtown
altogether—likely dooming many small businesses and leaving buildings vacant. However, the overpass could be repaired at a
fraction of the cost of the highway extension. This small investment in city infrastructure would be good for businesses and
shoppers alike.
In 1-2 sentences, identify the author's point of view and the author's purpose.
1 answer